Virgil Wander

Alec Sandstrom was once a minor-league baseball star for the Duluth Superior Dukes, known for his quirky, playful demeanor on the field and his fastball, nicknamed the “Mad Mouse.” Alec left for one of his regular flights over Lake Superior and disappeared. His plane was never found, though towns in the surrounding area report sightings of him. A Sports Illustrated article on the incident briefly brought fame to the small town, but Virgil didn’t like how it portrayed the residents. Alec was a friend of Virgil’s who did some neon sign work for him, and Rune asks him to describe his son, as he didn’t know him at all. Suddenly, Virgil is aware of how old and sad Rune looks, and his face falls on one side. The concussion has stolen his adjectives, and Virgil can’t find the right words to describe Alec. Rune has come to Greenstone as a “detective” and hopes people in town will talk to him.

Virgil recalls attending a Dukes game with Kate Wilsey in May 1994 when Alec pitched a perfect game. Alec’s wife Nadine, heavily pregnant with their son Bjorn, was in attendance when Alec wowed everyone with his fastball. The stadium was electric, and it was a magical night. Nadine went into early labor, and their son was born that night. Afterward, Alec got the attention of a few major league coaches. Still, he could never replicate the performance as his Magic Mouse pitch became unpredictable and sometimes dangerous. Alec and his little family moved to Greenstone, where they set up a graphic design business called “Sign Me Up!” Life went well for them until one evening, while they were walking, a strange car passed and followed them, a portentous sign that Alec’s good luck was shifting.

Virgil walks to the Agate Café for coffee. The owner, Julie, kisses him on the cheek and refuses to let him pay. Virgil must stop in the Citgo to purchase sunglasses due to his concussion headache. The teenage clerk Lanie Plume asks him, “[W]hat was it like, going over the edge?” (37), but Virgil can’t remember many details of the wreck. Lanie says her mother thinks Virgil had a near-death experience, and Lanie says that if he could remember it, he could become famous. She suggests he might go on a pilgrimage or do interviews.

As he walks to Greenstone City Hall, where he serves as city clerk, Virgil thinks about the afterlife, something he hasn’t pondered since his parents were killed in a train derailment when he was in high school. Virgil is disappointed to think he may have experienced a glimpse of the “great whatever” yet can’t recall it due to his concussion. Today, he is meeting with Lily Pea, daughter of Shad Pea, who, along with his brother, owns the city’s snowplowing business, about their contract with the city. Along with snowplowing, the Pea family does landscaping and maple syrup collection and provides guided fishing tours to tourists. Lily saw Shad the night before, and curiously, he was making a kite after meeting a man flying a kite by the lake. Virgil doesn’t tell Lily about his own encounter with the kite man. Shad is considering retiring and moving to Florida, allowing Lily to take over the family business.

Virgil’s boss, Lydia, asks him to approach Adam Leer about speaking at the town festival. Adam is the son of Spurlock Leer, the geologist who founded Greenstone. Much of Adam’s life is shrouded in mystery and local folklore, though he is known mainly as a filmmaker who made one scandalous film. In 1964, Adam’s older brother Richard and his girlfriend died after a car accident in a historic blizzard. Spurlock forced Adam to ride with him to find their car, and reportedly, Adam saw the taillights buried in the snow but said nothing. Tom Beeman describes Adam as a “Fifty percent practicing wastrel, forty percent seducer, ten percent expatriate film whiz” (45). Neither of Adam’s ex-wives are living. After Spurlock died in an accident driving Adam’s car, Adam inherited the family compound. Virgil asks his coworker Ann Fandeen to drive him out to the Leer compound since he can’t drive.

Lily Pea’s younger brother, Galen, who should be in school, is fishing from the Green Street Bridge. Since another boy was killed on this bridge years ago, Virgil tells Galen there’s a better fishing spot closer to the water. Galen insists he will scare the fish if he gets that close. When Virgil tells Galen they will visit Mr. Leer, Galen implores them not to go. He won’t say why, and Virgil doesn’t press him as he’s more worried about getting Galen off the bridge to safety.

The Leer property is overgrown and unkempt. Ann and Virgil find Adam burning a moldy pile of clothes. Virgil finds Adam affable and charming despite all the rumors about him. Adam asks Ann if her husband could help him with improvements around the home and property. He writes his number on her hand, and Virgil sees her blushing. However, Adam refuses Virgil’s request to speak at the Founder’s event, claiming he doesn’t like public speaking. Ann remains optimistic that he might change his mind and offers to ask him again.

Back at home, Virgil’s concussion symptoms flair, and he stumbles through the remainder of the day in a fog. Since his parent’s death, Virgil has habitually lit a candle in memorial for them. Virgil was supposed to be with them on the train traveling to Mexico for a mission trip, but he was a teenager and begged not to go. As the candle flickers, Virgil considers his brush with death and Lanie’s words about going on a quest. Feeling overwhelmed, he thinks, “The notion that I’d somehow put one over on mortality was exhausting” (60). Virgil remembers little of how he spent the rest of the day, but apparently, he put a pot of milk on to boil and then forgot to turn the stove off, leading to a fire.

Virgil wakes up from a dream about Kate Wilsey and smells smoke. He extinguishes the fire in the kitchen, which causes minimal damage but frightens him. Rita from Dr. Koskinen’s office calls to inform him he missed his follow-up appointment. Embarrassed that he has no recollection of making the appointment, Virgil reschedules. Dr. Koskinen calls and asks him questions about his physical and mental health. Virgil confesses to the fire, and the doctor insists Virgil find someone to stay with him until the concussion has fully healed. Virgil knows everyone in town but can’t think of anyone to ask. His sister Orry visits once a year, but Virgil prefers solitude. Virgil goes on the roof to haul the rest of the fire-damaged tiles into the trash and sees a dog-shaped kite flying in the sky.